Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council called by Iran that the US strikes on three of Iran's nuclear facilities removed the greatest existential threat facing the free world. Danon on Sunday said diplomacy was tried over and over but claimed Iran used the negotiating table as camouflage, a delay tactic, a way to buy time while building missiles and enriching uranium. Danon said Israel gave Iran years, but it wouldn't move, so Israel acted and when the world stood at the edge of a nuclear catastrophe, America stepped forward. Now the world must ensure Iran is never a nuclear threat again, he said.
Highlights: Catch all live developments in the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict here
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday that America does not seek war with Iran in the aftermath of a surprise attack overnight on three of that country's nuclear sites. The mission, called Operation Midnight Hammer, involved decoys and deception, and met with no Iranian resistance, Hegseth and Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon news conference. This mission was not and has not been about regime change, Hegseth added. Caine said the goal of the operation destroying nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan had been achieved. Final battle damage will take some time, but initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction, Caine said.
After US warplanes hit three Iranian nuclear facilities in coordination with Israel, Tehran reached out to Moscow for support as tensions spiral in West Asia
Iran's Foreign Ministry said Sunday that "the US has itself launched a dangerous war against Iran after America attacked three nuclear sites in the Islamic Republic. The ministry made the remarks in a long statement posted Sunday morning. The world must not forget that it was the United States - during an ongoing diplomatic process - that betrayed diplomacy by supporting the aggressive actions of the genocidal and lawless Israeli regime, the ministry said. Now, by completing the chain of violations and crimes committed by the Zionist regime, the US has itself launched a dangerous war against Iran. It added: The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its right to resist with full force against US military aggression and the crimes committed by this rogue regime, and to defend Iran's security and national interests. Earlier, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who posted on the social platform X, was the first ranking official to comment on the strikes on Isfahan, Fordo and Natanz by the ...
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Sunday that there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels after US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The UN nuclear watchdog sent the message via the social platform X on Sunday. The IAEA can confirm that no increase in off-site radiation levels has been reported as of this time, it said. The IAEA will provide further assessments on situation in Iran as more information becomes available.
The US strike on Iran fuelled fears that Israel's war with Tehran could escalate to a wider regional conflict, and other countries began reacting Sunday with calls for diplomacy and words of caution. President Donald Trump had said Thursday that he would decide within two weeks whether to get involved. In the end, it took just days to decide, and Washington inserted itself into Israel's campaign with its early Sunday attack. It remained unclear early how much damage had been inflicted, but Iran had pledged to retaliate if the US joined the Israeli assault. Some have questioned whether a weakened Iran would capitulate or remain defiant and begin striking with allies at US targets scattered across the Gulf region. Here is a look at reaction from governments and officials around the world. United Nations UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was gravely alarmed by the use of force by the United States. There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of cont
Iran's ambassador to the United Nations called on Sunday for an emergency Security Council meeting for what he described as America's heinous attacks and illegal use of force against Iran. In a letter, obtained by the AP, Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, said that the UN's most powerful body must take all necessary measures to hold the US accountable under international law and the UN charter. The Islamic Republic of Iran condemns and denounces in the strongest possible terms these unprovoked and premeditated acts of aggression, which have followed the large-scale military attack conducted by the Israeli regime on 13 June against Iran's peaceful nuclear sites and facilities," the letter continued.
President Donald Trump expressed certainty that his big gamble to directly assist the Israelis delivered a knockout blow to Iran's nuclear programme even as many supporters and detractors alike were warning that US military action could draw the US into an expansive regional conflict. Trump, in brief remarks to the nation on Saturday evening from the White House, said the strikes obliterated three critical Iranian enrichment facilities and the bully of the Middle East must now make peace. But it's a risky moment for Trump, who has belittled his predecessors for tying up America in stupid wars" and has repeatedly said he was determined to keep the U.S. and the Middle East from another expansive conflict. There will either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran," Trump said. He added, If peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed and skill." The US has struggled for decades to deal with the threat posed by Iran and its ...
Trump's announcement comes just two days after he said that he had opened a two-week window for diplomacy
Israel's Airport Authority announced Sunday it was closing the country's airspace to both inbound and outbound flights in the wake of the US attacks on Iranian nuclear sites. The agency said it was shutting down air traffic due to recent developments and did not say for how long. The US struck three sites in Iran early Sunday, inserting itself into Israel's war aimed at destroying the country's nuclear programme in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe despite fears of a wider regional conflict. Meanwhile, Iran said there were no signs of contamination at its nuclear sites at Isfahan, Fordo or Natanz after US airstrikes targeted the facilities. Iranian state media quoted the country's National Nuclear Safety System Centre, which published a statement saying its radiation detectors had recorded no radioactive release after the strikes. There is no danger to the residents living around the aforementioned sites, the statement added. Earlier Israeli airstrikes on nuclear sites simi
Iran said early Sunday there were no signs of contamination at its nuclear sites at Isfahan, Fordo and Natanz after US airstrikes targeted the facilities. Iranian state media quoted the country's National Nuclear Safety System Centre, which published a statement saying its radiation detectors had recorded no radioactive release after the strikes. There is no danger to the residents living around the aforementioned sites, the statement added. Earlier Israeli airstrikes on nuclear sites similarly have caused no recorded release of radioactive material into the environment around the facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency has said.
Antonio Guterres said that there is a "growing risk" that this conflict could "rapidly" get out of control with "catastrophic" consequences for civilians, the region, and the world
In his first speech after the US strikes on Iran, Trump warned that Iran faces "either peace or tragedy" and said many more targets remain within reach of the American military
Iran's attacks have killed 24 people and injured 1,272 others, including 14 in serious condition
President Donald Trump with his decision to order US military strikes on Iran's nuclear facility is gambling that direct US involvement can deliver a decisive blow to a weakened Tehran while managing to avoid bringing the US into an expansive regional conflict. Trump announced the strikes on three Iranian enrichment facilities Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan and said that a full payload of BOMBS was dropped on Fordo. All planes are safely on their way home, Trump added in his post. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! It remained to be seen whether the attacks mark the totality of direct American involvement in strikes against Iran or the opening salvo of a larger campaign. The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defences and offensive missile capabilities, whi
Iran's nuclear agency on Sunday confirmed attacks took place on its Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz atomic sites, but is insisting its work will not be stopped. The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran issued the statement after President Donald Trump announced the American attack on the facilities. The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran assures the great Iranian nation that despite the evil conspiracies of its enemies, with the efforts of thousands of its revolutionary and motivated scientists and experts, it will not allow the development of this national industry, which is the result of the blood of nuclear martyrs, to be stopped, it said in its statement. Earlier, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged an attack on the country's Fordo nuclear site. Attacks also targeted Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites, it said. IRNA quoted Akbar Salehi, Isfahan's deputy governor in charge of security affairs, saying there had been attacks around the sites. He did not elaborate. Quoting a ...
Earlier in the day, several US B-2 stealth bombers took off from the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri on Friday night (local time) and were seen heading West, CNN reported
President Donald Trump has said that the US military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel's effort to decapitate the country's nuclear programme in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran's threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict. The decision to directly involve the US comes after more than a week of strikes by Israel on Iran that have moved to systematically eradicate the country's air defences and offensive missile capabilities, while damaging its nuclear enrichment facilities. But US and Israeli officials have said that American stealth bombers and a 30,000-lb bunker buster bomb they alone can carry offered the best chance of destroying heavily-fortified sites connected to the Iranian nuclear programme buried deep underground. We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan," Trump said in a post on social media on Saturday. "All planes are now outside of Iran
Israel's military said Saturday it was preparing for the possibility of a lengthy war, and announced it struck an Iranian nuclear research facility overnight and killed three senior Iranian commanders in targeted attacks. The prospect of a wider war threatened, too. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they would resume attacks on US vessels and warships in the Red Sea if the Trump administration joins Israel's military campaign against Iran. The Houthis paused such attacks in May under a deal with the US. The US ambassador to Israel announced the US has begun assisted departure flights, the first such flights from Israel since the Hamas-led attack on Oct 7, 2023, that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza. Inside Iran, smoke rose from an area near a mountain in Isfahan, where the province's deputy governor for security affairs, Akbar Salehi, confirmed the Israeli strikes damaged the facility but caused no casualties. The target was a centrifuge production site, Israel's military .